It really wasn’t until the recent Logogarden.com debacle where I had 21 logo designs pinched, that this problem reared its ugly head. My work has been stolen – a lot.

Now, I’ve had work lifted here and there over the years. Some overly inspired logo designs appearing in various logo forum sites and I’ve been pretty swift to address it. Plus, I’ve had the benefit of having others warn me of work they have seen that looks a little too similar – but, this is different. Never this widespread and never this brazen.

Until now, there hasn’t been the search technology available out there to find this stuff. And now, with the release of the Google reverse image search, it’s a whole new ball game.

To be clear, I know enough not to just post work rampantly throughout the Internet. I am very select about where the work goes and what sites they will appear. In addition, I always try to label the work with either my domain name or logo mark on each image. And internally, I make sure that I keep folders of the collections, and what their image dimensions are, in the event of someone copying the files.

Even though I take all these precautions (I know what you’re thinking, they’re really not that much), it’s still the Wild West out there. Most people have no idea (nor do they care) that ALL the images floating around out there on the web were created by somebody, and they are not ripe for the pickens whenever you feel the need.

How did we get here?

The online portfolio – it’s as simple as that. And even more than that, the online presence you need to get visibility in our modern business world.

In the old days, the way to get your work in front of the folks that need it was to advertise. Whether you made cold calls, paid for sourcebook ads, did mailings, got in with creative directors to show your book or dropped promotional pieces – it was all in hopes of a call back for the next great assignment. Back then, it was who you knew. Word of mouth was always your friend and reputation was everything.

You can’t just have a website anymore. To really get noticed there needs to be a presence on portfolio sites, directories, forums, social networking sites, inspiration sites, your own or company blog and whatever else you can think of. The keyword here is visible.

With all that there needs to be content, lots of it. And there seems to be this insatiable appetite for newer and newer content all the time. You can’t have work that is 6 months to a year old on your profile! We want new. We want more. We want it now.

This kind of mentality seems to have fueled another phenomenon – if I can’t get noticed with enough of my own work, I’ll just borrow yours.

Plagiarism has been around forever, but it’s never been this easy to access good work. And to soothe many a thief’s conscience, it’s done fairly anonymously.

Think about it. In the last four years, we’ve had a huge surge of growth in the logo design industry.

Logo design went from a rather obscure sub-set of graphic design, into a vogue little vocation in almost no time flat. Anyone with some time, software and a laptop is cranking out their own little identities.

The established identity designers, like myself, have a classical education in design and illustration and do this professionally. Many of the new generation are either self-taught, or are coming from a web design perspective. And some, are hobbyists – ones that tinker with design in their free time, while they keep the day job.

I blame this rash of theft in our industry on the global economy. I know that is very fashionable these days to pass the blame, but hear me out.

Right about the time the economy takes a digger, several new business models appear on the logo design horizon. First, you have what I like to call the overstock or brand-in-a-box sites. These in their purest form, are sites that help you sell those nifty, misunderstood and never approved logo concepts you’ve got lying around on your hard drive. For the potential client, they get a ready-made logo and possibly a matching domain name, for one tidy little price.

In the beginning, they were doing just that. But, after everyone saw that there was possible money to be made, other designers started to make up these fictitious brands to fill up their lack of inventory – and interest increased. No more pesky clients getting in the way. We’re making money!

Then, you’ve got the crowdsourcing sites.

The business model that puts up a contest to get as many logo concepts as the client can bear to see, and the only one that gets paid in the end is the winner. If you’re lucky.

When the odds are stacked up against you like that and money is tight, people do drastic things. Things they probably wouldn’t attempt without anonymity.

The interesting thing with these two new opportunities created in logo design, was the amount of spillover that appeared back on sites like Logopond.com. In an effort to get cross-promotion traffic to their contests and box brands, designers were posting work on the critique sites begging for likes and floats. And they told two friends – and so on, and so on.

Then, the boom started.

Tweets. Links. Inspirational blog posts. Many, in so much hurry to post the logos, didn’t bother to give credit to the designer.

Everyone’s a logo designer, or so they are trying. It’s amazing. These pesky little pictograms with type are a lot harder to produce than they look. And with a massive glut on the internet, even harder to come up with something original.

It ain’t that easy, is it? Easy money never is.

But there’s a new one on the horizon.

And just like Hollywood, the profiteers come out of hiding. We can’t possibly come up with something new. We’ve got to take a formula and do it over and over again. This time, we’ll tap into a ‘team’ of designers and crank out a massive icon library for our customers to select from! Yeah, it’ll be great. They’ll pick their own colors, their own fonts. We’ll be rich!

But, how do you possibly stock a website with 10,000 icons without tapping a team of hundreds of designers? You can’t. Certainly not without covering old grounds. How much would that even cost? That’s the sad part, probably not as much as you would think.

And, that’s where our story turns to logo pilfering.

The truth is, we’ve got people willing to ask for 200 logos for $250.00 on Elance.com. Even sadder, we’ve got people willing to do it for less than that.

Someone was willing to go through the Logolounge.com database and steal hundreds of logo designs from hard working designers, design firms and agencies, probably because they didn’t have enough time or resources to actually do the work for the price quoted. And they didn’t have the talent, nor the training.

One thing I don’t get, is why do we have to lowball so much? I know that $50.00 in some countries is quite a bit of money, but on the other hand, isn’t $500.00? Why not try for those jobs and up the standards? Eventually, if we try hard enough, those sub-$100 jobs will be a thing of the past.

One would only hope. But, you have to take a stand somewhere.

So, what’s the harm?

There’s plenty.

It’s one of the biggest misconceptions on the Internet. Most people just do the old right-click and copy it over to the hard drive. They never even bother to find out where the image came from. They might rename it so they don’t ‘feel dirty’ about it, because deep down inside they know it’s wrong. And, no one ever thinks they’ll get caught.

Sure, if there’s some genuine interest in your work and it appears on a blog, be sure and let them know you are thankful and remind them to post a link to your site. But, if it’s obviously for their own benefit and it’s led to believe they did the work, be sure and show your displeasure and get it removed.

People work very hard every day to create this work and by doing that and not recognizing the person who created it, you’re taking food off of their table. I work hard to create a brand for my business and do quality work for my clients. When you mess with my work, you mess with my brand and you mess with my business.

Showing design work in my portfolio on my own website is not a digital buffet for which anyone can choose to use anything at their leisure. This is my job. This is how I make my living. Expect me to be upset.

Think about that the next time you do an image search. I hope you adjust your habits and give credit where it’s due and above all, pay it forward.

So, how can you protect yourself from your own logo pilfering?

• Keep track of your images. Have a naming convention that you can easily keep going and where they were posted.
• Use metadata in your images. Include metadata, creation and copyright data information when saving in Photoshop or Adobe Bridge.
• File for copyrights on your images. You can file for copyrights in groups of images, too and save some money.
• Be careful where you post your work. Only submit to sites that you know or trust.
• Be a good neighbor. If you see a familiar image that looks overly inspired, contact the original designer if you know who it is. If not, Tweet it.
• Scan the image servers. Use Google Reverse Image Search or Tineye.com to see if anyone’s using your work.
• Cease & Desist letters – Get a copy of a DMCA form and have it ready if you need to send it.
• Consider digital tracking software. Services like Digimarc can label, watermark and track your digital library.
• Turn off image links on your website. Although not a big solution, it can certainly deter the casual infringer.
• Label your work. Let the pilferer know that they are borrowing your work should it end up beyond your reach.

Not only is the volume full of some of the latest and greatest work from contemporary logo designers from around the world, it is also a great resource on everything from sketching and concept development, to software tips and business development.

I’ve owned my share of logo design books and most of them have some very inspirational work that grace the pages, but this one is a bit different. It’s not only showing nice work, it’s showing you how to create it and market the work, too.

A few months ago, Gareth contacted me about contributing to the book and I of course said, “Yes!”.  In addition to work from me, he also got contributions from a wide range of very talented designers from all experience levels to pitch in. The list is truly a who’s who of current logo design talent with lots of interesting insights on a range of tips and business issues. As you can see, very good company, indeed.

I was asked to contribute a handful of logos from my own work, and write about my experience in self-promotion, the evolution of the logo design business and the effects of the internet on our industry. It was great to see it all there in print at the end. Much thanks to the great editorial staff for sifting through what I wrote and keeping the good stuff! ;)

Overall, I thought Gareth and the folks at Wiley & Sons did a great job with the book. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy.

Accepting your role is often difficult to grasp once it’s been established, especially if it’s not the role you wanted or started out with. You may be wondering, “How did I get here, and why did I let this happen?”

It really depends on how you set the tone from the start, and it’s no different with a client/designer relationship either.

A few years ago, when I was just starting my design studio, I had taken on a rather promising client in the gourmet food category. In a traditional agency, their business would have been rather small, but for me it was a good chunk of income and a great opportunity.

How I got the business was a lesson in itself.

I had attained the connection from a client I had worked with in my former agency job. She had left her marketing VP position to go out on her own and eventually joined up with this new venture to help as marketing director and get it off the ground. When we had worked together in the past, I had no idea we would ever work side-by-side in this capacity, or even become friends.

So, going to meet with the former client, now marketing director and her partner, the new company owner for the first time, I was a bit intimidated. Part of me was wondering if I was up to the task of such a client. They had a very high taste level and the gourmet food category was something that I had very little experience. And part of me was anxious to get the business, especially since this income would set me off in a good direction.

In essence, my bit of self-doubt and anxiety couldn’t help but spill over into the now blossoming client relationship. Did they notice that, or did I manage to shield them from my nervous thoughts? They were impressed enough to hire me, though. It was up to me to take it from there.

Now, you have to wonder what their expectations and work-style are like. Not everyone shows their colors in a couple of meetings. Do they expect to drive the creative work and have you making changes at their every whim? Or are they wanting some guidance through the project and need a creative partner to help them through the process?

Do they want a decorator or a designer? Make that decision for them.

My defining moment working with them came when we were in the process completing their corporate identity and selecting colors for the first 9 label designs to appear on their line of sauces. Color, I am told, is one of my biggest strengths as a graphic designer. But, after 12 rounds (yes, 12 rounds – you do the math) of color comps, I was starting to wonder if I knew what I was doing.

They were wallpapering their office with page after page of technicolor uncertainty and all the while tinkering and suggesting, desperately trying to make a decision on the perfect hues.

Then, they asked, “What do you think? Can we try another round with these adjustments?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. In the back of my mind, I thought if I didn’t say something now I would just be their decorator. Pushing pixels whenever the wind shifted. Completely drifting into a design black hole and hating the work.

It was here that I went from decorator to designer.

So, before I realized what I was saying, I said it, “We’re going off a cliff here”.

Uh oh, I thought, it’s out now.

“I’ve run out of bullets. Spent. I frankly don’t know where to take this now,” I said.

Wow. From there I decided to go with it. Business be damned. If they wanted my honest opinion, I was going to say it.

I think there is a perfectly good solution in the work shown here. We just need to agree which group it is. We’re not going to find it in another round.

Somehow, I was relieved and now glad I said my piece.

Well, fortunately this made an impact and they decided to take a break on the call and get back with me later in the day. At this point, I didn’t know what they would do, but for some reason I had a feeling that this wasn’t a deal breaker for the business.

Sure enough, they called back with a decision. They went with the work from the second round of color. It was good, because I was exhausted.

Sheepishly, they apologized for all the additional work and agreed that they were over-analyzing and needed to have a little more trust in my recommendations.

Go figure.

To sum up, my relationship with that client completely changed after that day – for the better. I was much more open to making my recommendations with purpose and there was an improved respect level that carried on with several projects beyond our original.

The marketing director has since moved on from that company and still works with me to this day, ten years later. And we’re great friends.

Sometimes it pays to speak up and swim upstream a little. You never know what may be out there.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a defining moment in your client relationships you’d like to share?

I did my very best, so please be kind. :)

Overall, I thought it came out very nice. I dig the very impactful and distinct, orange cover and mailing package. The pacing was nicely planned and the page layouts were well done. It was a great first-edition effort.

What made this book different is their premise of ‘The book from logo designers for logo designers’. So, it seems only fitting that they included a nice collection of work with some great articles from notable logo designers from all over the world. Designers like Steve Zelle of Processed Identity, Tim Lapetino of Hexanine, logo designer and blogger, Jacob Cass, Gareth Hardy and others.

Here is an excerpt from my article, The Power of a Good Logo:

To read the rest of the story, you can order your own copy of the limited-edition LogoNest 01 from the website.

I want to thank Alen, Sinisa and everyone at LogoNest for the opportunity to help out. We all look forward to LogoNest 02.